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Shrimp Cocktail Recipe with Low-Sugar Cocktail Sauce

My Dad loved shrimp, so when it wasn't the main dish I'd often make shrimp cocktail for him as an appetizer.

(In memory of my wonderful father, I'm featuring some of his favorite recipes this week while I spend time with my family.) Shrimp with spicy cocktail sauce is one of my favorite foods, but traditional cocktail sauce has a fair amount of sugar for anyone who's trying to pay attention to the glycemic index. Happily, shrimp cocktail is back on my menu, after I was walking through the grocery store recently and spotted a bottle of Heinz new Reduced-Sugar Ketchup. Right away I knew I'd have to apologize to Heinz for all the imaginary hate mail I sent a few years back when my store stopped selling Heinz One-Carb Ketchup.

This appears to be the same product, re-designed to remove the low-carb label and add the the more-appealing tagline of reduced sugar. I don't care what they call it, I'm just happy this product is back! I'm not a huge ketchup eater, but there are a fair number of recipes that use it. Heinz Reduced Sugar Ketchup has one gram of sugar per tablespoon, which is a whopping 75% less sugar than regular ketchup. (I'm thinking South Beach Diet friendly barbecue sauce might be another good use for it.) The ketchup does contain Splenda, which is something I consider safe, especially in the small amounts I use it.

frozen cooked shrimp:
I used 31-40 count size.
Allow about 6-8 per person.

Thaw shrimp over night in the refrigerator, (or inside the bag in warm water will work in a pinch.) Let shrimp drain well, then pat dry with paper towels.

Mix together ketchup and tomato paste. Add smaller amounts of lemon juice and horseradish, stir to combine, then taste to see if you want to add more lemon or horseradish. (I like it pretty sour and spicy, but some people may prefer the smaller amounts.)

Serve shrimp with cocktail sauce. You can also make a traditional shrimp cocktail by layering chopped lettuce under diced shrimp mixed with cocktail sauce.

Shrimp is such a perfect Low-Glycemic food, and this cocktail sauce has only a few grams of sugar in a serving (approximately 1 gram per T) which makes it a great option for any phase of the South Beach Diet.

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Oh man, I so needed this today! I actually had shrimp cocktail today for lunch because I HAD A CRAVING and I used the full sugar stuff. Now I won't have to feel guilty having shrimp cocktail in the future!

Is the shrimp cocktail recipe ok for phase 1? Lis and I just started phase 1 3 days ago. I guess we better wait a couple weeks for the good stuff. Wait to go The Daily Special!! You rock, of course I'm a little predjudice cuz you're my sister. How's the garden by now? Love ya, Mark

And you're right about the labeling of the ketchup. I suppose reduced sugar is more appealing. Or maybe perchance, it's for people who aren't paying attention to glycemic indices? The Atkins craze is not quite as flush as it once was, so that might be another marketing ploy, too.

You had me with that outstanding first photo! I make my own catsup using Splenda instead of sugar, but I also keep a bottle of the low sugar Heinz in my fridge. I can see shrimp cocktails on the deck ... as soon as the sun comes out!

Hi Kalyn. Just wanted to say thanks in general for your blog. I'm back on South Beach (did it last year for about 6 months, went off, but have returned!) and this time am even more committed to healthy eating, especially low glycemic eating. I have to say that this cocktail sauce was fantastic, and it will definitely be a staple for my family in the future.

And knowing your blog was here with so many good recipes and encouraging comments definitely helped me go back to South Beach. Thanks!

I, too, love shrimp cocktail. I headed to the grocery store armed with a list of ingredients needed to make SB cocktail sauce. I was dreading the thought of having to make it everytime I wanted it, so I was so excited to find that Gold's makes a cocktail sauce with the exact ingredients that is in the SB one with 2g of carbs.

Hidy, hi! Thanks for leaving this recipe up. My sister will be here next weekend and I'm putting together tapas in the Keto vein, cool items cuz it's hot in Texas. This is so great and horseradish is so very healthy for us. Thanks again, I won't be a stranger.

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